Organizational Politics Shapes IT Decision Essay

Total Length: 915 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

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Organizational politics then left unchecked will attempt to squelch, even force to fail any IT plan as seen as too much of a threat to the current hierarchy of status and power within any organization. This is often seen in fact from the standpoint of manufacturing companies who attempt to en masse move their existing production processes to an ERP system prior to streamlining the existing processes first. This tends to only automate mediocrity and speed up the inefficiencies the systems were acquired to overcome in the first place.

Overcoming Organizational Politics to Make Progress

Reliance on traditional means of gaining consensus through autocratic and ordered compliance fail, as they do nothing to alleviate the fear and lack of trust people have about how any new IT system or decision will impact their jobs and status. What is needed is more of a focus on shared ownership and most important of all, honesty and transparency on the part of company leaders about how any given IT system or process change will impact employees. The need for creating trust in the face of change is the deciding factor in the context of any change management strategy (Mintzberg, 1991).

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The politics within organizations are permeable as their cultures are, yet it takes the leadership of any organization to concentrate on being an example of how the process will impact them personally as well (Spicer, 2005). Above all when there can be a shared mission to any given information technologies strategy, the ability of organizations to concentrate on a shared goal, the probability of a goal being achieved goes up significantly (Mintzberg, 1991).

Conclusion

IT decision makers must focus on the broader strategic vision and contribution of IT, gaining CEO and senior management as champions of their cause. Above all else there must be a focus on how to minimize resistance to change through a strong reliance on honesty, transparency and providing insights into exactly how information system technologies will or will not impact employees. The negative aspects of organizational politics thrive in periods of a lack of information, and only be counterbalancing the scales with accurate information can successful change be accomplished......

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"Organizational Politics Shapes IT Decision" (2009, July 31) Retrieved June 5, 2026, from
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"Organizational Politics Shapes IT Decision" 31 July 2009. Web.5 June. 2026. <
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"Organizational Politics Shapes IT Decision", 31 July 2009, Accessed.5 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/organizational-politics-shapes-decision-20219